Acumen+giving+you+the+edge
Categories:Litigation / Dispute Resolution

Herbies disputes exits continue with Addleshaws raid

7 February 2013 | By Katy Dowell

  • Print
  • Comments (6)

Related Articles

Related Firms

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has been hit with another litigation defection after of counsel Nichola Peters announced that she is leaving the firm for Addleshaw Goddard.

It comes just hours after the firm confirmed the departure of litigation heavyweight Simon Bushell, who will join US firm Latham & Watkins. Bushell currently co-chairs HSF’s London corporate fraud and asset tracing practice and is head of the firm’s crisis management practice (7 Februrary 2013).

Peters, who specialises in corporate crime matters, bribery and corruption, counts insurance giants Willis and BP among her clients. She will join Addleshaws as partner.

Her arrival will fill the gap left by former corporate crime chief Elizabeth Robertson, who left in January last year to join K&L Gates as an equity partner (18 January 2012).

HSF has suffered three high-profile disputes exits in recent months, including financial services regulatory chief Martyn Hopper, who joined rival Linklaters along with partner Nikunj Kiri (3 September 2012).

In 2011 the firm was the subject of a raid by Willkie Farr, which launched a UK anti-bribery practice on the back of the hire of partner Peter Burrell, the US firm’s first English solicitor recruit in London (9 May 2011).

The hire of Peters will be a welcome boost to Addleshaws’ dispute resolution practice, which last made a partner-level hire in November 2011, appointing Clarissa Coleman from the Consensus Business Group (25 November 2011).

Commenting on the appointment Addleshaws litigation head Simon Kamstra said: “Nichola’s a fantastic hire for the business and is very highly regarded by her peer group. Her technical expertise and experience of handling big cases across multiple jurisdictions will strengthen our litigation capability so we can continue to service the biggest and most complex disputes in the sector and offer our clients the very best sector knowledge and insight.”

A statement from Herbert Smith Freehills said: “Nichola has made a significant contribution to the development of our corporate crime and investigations practice. We would like to thank Nichola for her contribution and wish her well for the future.”

See all Related Jobs, Briefings & CPD/Events

Readers' comments (6)

  • Anonymous | 7-Feb-2013 5:59 pm

    of counsel moving for immediate, stepping stone, partnership at Addleshaws - will they be there in 2015?

    Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment

  • Anonymous | 7-Feb-2013 9:25 pm

    Ship be sinkin'!

    Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment

  • Anonymous | 8-Feb-2013 9:06 am

    Come on The Lawyer, this is hardly news worthy. Someone else was promoted to partner at HSF and Nicola did not make it, end of. How many times elsewhere have lawyers moved from counsel at one firm to partner elsewhere? Next you will no doubt be reporting "HSF disputes exits continue as junior associate leaves HSF to join top US law firm". And take a look at how many partners AG have lost over the last 12 months. Poor reporting.

    Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment

  • Too Right | 8-Feb-2013 11:12 am

    @ Anonymous | 8-Feb-2013 9:06 am - spot on. Sadly, reporting from a monopoly position means there is no competition for the poor reporting and increasingly smug editorial seen on The Lawyer. And no, there's nowhere else to go for the news, so we are reluctantly stuck with having to rely on the views of people who don't really understand the market. Simon Bushell leaving for Latham is news. Nichola Peters leaving for AG is not.

    Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment

  • Anonymous | 10-Feb-2013 8:04 am

    Utter rubbish Too Right - this reporting is spot on. The point being there is pattern of defection and decline. If that reverses or in hindsight is seen as a blip, well and good. But don't jump down the throat of the reporter because you don't like the message being delivered by the market. People like you twist arguments when you fear the truth. You sound like the worst kind of lawyer: unprincipled and a mouthpiece for (most likely your own) vested interests = untrustworthy.

    Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment

  • Anonymous | 14-Feb-2013 4:51 pm

    in reply to utter rubbish anonymous - what I think the two previous posts are on about here is singling out one particular law firm for The Lawyer treatment. This publication did the same thing to Norton Rose in 2004 and 2005 and it was as bad then as it is now. There is not a pattern of defection and decline - that is absolute nonsense. And even if there is, Nicola Peter's departure is symptomatic of nothing. Rod Fletcher, a leading corporate crime partner, is in the process of joining HSF. Now let's put two and two together. Leading corporate crime partner joins a firm. Said firm made up an associate about 18 months ago. Other associate was promoted to counsel, NOT partner. Said counsel moves for partnership because she could not obtain it at her own firm. This is symptomatic of someone not being made up and looking for partnership elsewhere and trading down massively in the process. No disrespect AG. Lawyers do this all the time. Lower tier law firms are littered with partners who were not successful at their previous firms. The Lawyer needs to get a grip and start doing some proper reporting.

    Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment

Have your say

Mandatory Required Fields

Related Briefings

View All Related Briefings

  • Print
  • Comments (6)

Most popular

Most commented

Most emailed